RIDERS OF THE STORM

[David Filsell]

Joe Robinson, Francis Hendricks and Janet Robinson,

The Battle of the Silver Helmets Halen 12th August 1914. Fonthill, £18.99. Hardback, 160 pages, 37 ills. maps, notes and refs, bibliog. ISBN 978-1-78155-183-7.

As they proved in their magnificent reference work The Great War Dawning, published last year, American ex-soldiers Joe and Janet Robinson certainly know about the German Army of 1914. In The Last Great Cavalry Charge their expertise has been boosted by the contribution of former Belgian soldier and military historian Francis Hendricks. The result is fascinating. An account of a battle which took place days before the BEF went into the line at Mons and one which I venture few readers of Stand To! have even heard.

Whilst my own research on First Ypres had shown the lack of training of German cavalry in dismounted action, the authors truly underline incompetence of the nations mounted arm. It had prepared for past wars. Despite Terence Zubers views which loudly happily trumpet the magnificent quality of every almost aspect of the German army in 1914, its cavalry was inadequate. It was an arm of service still shackled to the anachronistic concept of the "knee to knee" grand action charge, of night-time bivouac. Deployed in inadequate strength, on the left of the advance into Belgium, it offered dated Napoleonic personnel sapping, horse killing, and exhibition of military inefficiency. I In truth it was little more than a parade ground trophy force whose problems of outmoded doctrine were magnified by strategic and tactical ineptitude and defective logistical support. Unlike British cavalry - trained and highly effective infantry once dismounted the German was effective in the 20th century as would have been Neys (whose thinking it broadly, and it seems willingly, embraced).

If not the very last cavalry charge, the fighting at Halen was almost certainly the most disastrous employment of cavalry on the field of battle of the Great War. Two brigades of Fourth Cavalry Division attempted no less than seven separate charges. In effect they were destroyed by dismounted Belgian cavalry and infantry which was itself firmly on the on the back foot. The episode underlined in stark terms that the Germans had ignored a new reality - modern weaponry made the élan of larme Blanche dead in its saddle. The tides of war had washed over the sand of mounted man and horse. Those on foot, with magazine rifles and the support of relatively limited quick firing artillery and machine guns now held all the aces against lance wielding men on horses and the officers who commanded them.

This is not merely the story of the battle but also a valuable dissection of the German cavalry arm in 1914. In doing so it deploys an impressive range of official records, supported by telling personal Belgian and French personal accounts 37 well chosen illustrations. That all said it must be added that a number of niggles indicate that the authors deserved better copy editing from their publisher. Mapping of the individual sections is adequate if necessarily broad brush. A large per map showing overall deployment and movement of forces and this area of Belgium, little know to Brits, would have been welcome. That all said this is a valuable addition to the early history of the Great War and a reflection of genuine German donkeyism.

[joerookery]

Thank you for the review David! We are using this as a springboard for our next effort and titled something like the "failed reconnaissance". Integrating the aviation and cavalry reconnaissance in Belgium that missed the BEF. Why? We are just starting.

[David Filsell]

I look forward to it with pleasure.

David

[Guest petergoose]

I just got this title last week and can say its a great read. Well written,decent maps and good research. Well worth buying.

[joerookery]

Thank you I found it to be a fun little story that very few people know about. I did not have these sketches when we put the book together I wish I had. I think this gives you a pretty good view of a sunken road but the reality of the ditch/Road is far more deep than this drawing allows.

4-Kü Nr 2 at the Betserbaan by Joe Robinson, on Flickr

[joerookery]

On 12 August 1915 the Germans had a significant memorial for the one-year anniversary of the Battle of Halen. This cavalry action brought forth a ceremony that was held in Halen Belgium and attended by 40 relatives from Germany. The Generalgouverneur of Belgium, Generaloberst Freiherr von Bissing and the Militärgouverneur of the Province of Limburg, Generalmajor Keim were present. The Groβherzog of Mecklenburg sent a delegate to honour his fallen Mecklenburg men. Every grave was decorated with an iron cross-with the name of the fallen-and with flowers. After the ceremony, Exzellenz von Bissing-in person- paid his condolences to the relatives and the cemeteries were visited. A special train brought the participants of the ceremony from Halen to Hasselt and then back to Germany.

During the ceremony General Keim gave a speech. The content of the speech and other details can be found in a 17-page booklet (Das Gefecht bei Haelen) that was prepared for the event and contained a number of pictures. This was in the middle of the war. The impact of this battle was so significant on the operational outcome of the Schlieffen Plan, that they actually stopped what they were doing a year later to conduct the memorial. This not only affected the operation but also the flower of German chivalry.

Yet this battle was not well known in the English language until Fonthill Media published the first English-language work earlier this year. Happening 11 days prior to the Battle of Mons, the results of this battle seriously affected the reconnaissance that followed on looking for the BEF. Not that far from Mons and with a battlefield heavily preserved, a visit to the museum and the battlefield would be richly rewarded especially when paired with the maps and story inside “The Last Great Cavalry Charge”. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cavalry-Charge--Battle-Silver-Helmets-Halen-12/dp/1781551839/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1438962135&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Last+Great+Cavalry+Charge

halenoneyear by Joe Robinson, on Flickr

[joerookery]

Blatant commercialism

http://www.naval-military-press.com/special-offers-military-books/?utm_source=NMP+Customer+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=26e9541f00-Quality%2C+heavyweight+reference+works&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4d89205210-26e9541f00-440421

[David Filsell]

And worth ever penny!

[SteveMarsdin]

Ditto,

If only for reminding us that the German Army may have got many things right in August 1914 but they were not perfect as some would suggest; the weaknesses of their cavalry arm are amply illustrated in this book

[greenman126]

Not really thought about reading no much about the German Army before - but aft reading these posts will be ordering a copy soon.

Thanks for the inspiration.

[joerookery]

We did not know that electronic book was even in the works. But we stumbled upon this and it is incredibly cheaper. I am sure that retailers would prefer you to buy a hard copy however this is a very good option Especially for Australia and New Zealand where it has not been marketed. I think many Australians could take umbrage with the title! - Think great not last. I do not know if it is available in electronic form anywhere else All I have seen is Amazon and Amazon.com UK.. I do not know why it is so much more expensive in the UK as an electronic book than in the US.

http://www.amazon.com/Cavalry-Charge-Battle-Silver-Helmets-Halen-12-ebook/dp/B018PFIVWK/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1448972988&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cavalry-Charge-Battle-Silver-Helmets-Halen-12-ebook/dp/B018PFIVWK/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=